[Down n Dirty]

I'm currently using Avid Juicy carbons on an Ellsworth Epiphany and am not impressed. They are very noisey, even when dry and don't modulate as well as I hoped and expected. I'm looking to upgrade into the K24 or Mono Minis. I plan on running 180 / 160 rotors. The LBS is pumped on Hope (and they know how to ride) but its hard to ignore all the strong K24 praise on this forum. Anyone had an opportunity to compare both brake systems? Thanks for your feedback.

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

I just sold my 2 year old Mono Minis and replaced them with K24s (which I moved from one of my other bikes after replacing those with Formula Ones). So it's fair to say I've had a lot of time on both systems.

The Minis & k24s are on my 23 lb SS. Both setup with 180/160 rotors.

The K24s are more powerful and fade less. I don't miss the Mono Minis at all.

 

[havnmonkey]

I'm sporting the 24's and love 'em... I'm still tinkering with the caliper alignment to combat some squeal... At first my rear was squealing and the front was silent, but now my front squeal a bit and the rear is silent...

Stopping power is superb and the overall feel I get from the system is very positive!

 

[FoShizzle]

while i hate having anything in common with squeaky nutsack, i too have abandoned Hopes...only set left now is my 08 M4 set which I really do like on my XC bike. Minis replaced by Formula Biancos on the hardtail; the minis never impressed me frankly. have also just replaced my M6/M4 combo with Formulas as well on the longer travel bike...the combo worked great, just tired of the stupid rotor rubbing nonsense that often accompanies Hope brakes and through now 4 sets of Hopes, 3 sets had intermittent leaks from the reservoirs which drove me nutz.

 

[Boyonabyke]

I've never bled my K-18's in 9 months and about 2000 miles of riding. I solved the"squeaky pads" problems by going with sintered metallic pads, with a 200 mm rotor up front and a 180 mm in the rear. Simply the best upgrade you can make.

Service... I clean the calipers, scrub them gently with solvent and an old toothbrush where the calipers enter the bore, and apply a super thin film of silicone grease/paste to the calipers before squeezing them back in to the bore all the way to install brand new pads. I now do this with every brake pad change.

Disc brakes have super performance, but they do require some general common sense and maintenance to keep them performing flawlessly. Keep them clean and grit free and they will treat you well, abuse and ignore them, and they'll give you headaches.

 

[misctwo]

mono mini's are very light and pretty to look at but don't really come close to the performance of the K24's, in modulation, power, lever feel.

the mono M4's are comparable in power and modulation to the K24's though. i've owned all three systems and i still have the K24's.

but if you want to learn by trying, I don't fault you....the good news is that hope brakes have excellent resale values!